Green tea polyphenols protect spinal cord neurons against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress.

Green tea polyphenols are strong antioxidants and can reduce free radical damage. To investigate their neuroprotective potential, we induced oxidative damage in spinal cord neurons using hydrogen peroxide, and applied different concentrations (50-200 μg/mL) of green tea polyphenol to the cell medium for 24 hours. Measurements of superoxide dismutase activity, malondialdehyde content, and expression of apoptosis-related genes and proteins revealed that green tea polyphenol effectively alleviated oxidative stress. Our results indicate that green tea polyphenols play a protective role in spinal cord neurons under oxidative stress.